Knitting

FO Friday, Blogs and Monkey Pool

April 5, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

OFF THE NEEDLES OR TGIFOF

The Monkey Pool socks are finished as of yesterday. The Parakeet yarn was amazing to work with, unfortunately, the pattern I started out with, Spring Pools, not so much. This was totally my fault. The pretty pattern was lost in the busy colors on the yarn. Of course, I decided this AFTER the first sock was finished. So, I changed canoes so to speak in the middle of the stream and the second sock is a Crazy Monkey, making these a pair of Monkey Pool socks.

FYI – I tried to post a link for the Parakeet yarn but can’t read the name of the web address on the label. Sorry about that. It’s from The Great Adirondack Yarn Company.

L – Spring Pools R- Crazy Monkey

I’m still on the lookout for the perfect buttons for Olivia. I’m going to Goodwill today to search for some I can repurpose and if not, then I’ll continue my stalking. This search has motivated me to start stockpiling buttons that catch my interest and since I’m a diehard collector, the house will be awash in buttons in no time. Besides, I think buttons are cool. Speaking of Olivia, she’s blocked and ready to receive the final touches, an applied I-cord (which I’m going to need help with) and, of course, the buttons. I’ll show her off as soon as she’s officially totally completed, FO Friday or not!

SHAMELESS PLUG

While you’re blog surfing, please check out these two, which are near and dear to my heart, wife.mother.disciple at susiemom.wordpress.com and The Mommy Life 101 at kcoleman1009.wordpress.com. As mentioned in another post, these blogs are Bigmommy and Babymama’s first blogs ever and we all know, especially with blogging, a little encouragement goes a long way! Thanks in advance!

Another blog you don’t want to miss is Tamis Ami’s and since it’s FO Friday, it’s full of FO goodness. You’ll be blown away by the creativity of us fiber freaks, I always am!

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties. Erich Fromm

Knitting

DITD, Book Love, Birthday Girl, FO Friday

March 29, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

WHAT’S UP

I’ve been a tad down in the dumps the last few days or so, nothing spectacular and nothing that makes me want to stay in bed with the covers pulled over my head, just a mild case of long sighs and dysmotivation*. I should tell you that there’s no real reason for this dumpy mood, except maybe that my calendar says spring, the clothes catalogues say spring and last week one day it was 70 degrees, but the last few days have been cold and windy. Windy to the point that power was out in some parts of the city. Thankfully, we didn’t lose power, that might have pushed me right over the edge and I would have been forced to go buy a pair of sandals or a new pocketbook or something. Dodged that bullet.

BY THE BOOK

I’m continuing my love affair with the writings of John Steinbeck with Travels with Charley. I’m late to the party with this particular one and am thoroughly enjoying this travelogue. This affair all started with East of Eden, first in a Reader’s Digest condensed book, so long ago I can’t remember the year or my age. I’m pretty certain it was junior high, around 1968 or so. Later, I filled in the blanks (it was a condensed book, remember) with a paperback from some school book club, probably Scholastic. Remember the Scholastic book club? I lived for the days they handed out the new Scholastic book catalogues and would study them for days, making lists of the ones I wanted. Even so many years ago, it was always “so many books, so little time”. I got into trouble more than once for hiding a book inside another book in class, just because I needed to finish “just one more page, I promise”.

YOU BET I’M PROUD

I usually am tooting my own horn over the grands and I will, later in this post, but I want to share how proud I am of my big girls, my daughter and my daughter in law, Bigmommy and Babymama. They’ve both started blogs and mentioned me as their inspiration. Teared me right up, it did. So, pop over to The Mommy Life 101: Welcome to Motherhood and wife*mother*disciple and see why I’m usually awestruck by these two young women and their accomplishments.

IT’S BABYDIVA’S DAY

Three hundred sixty five days ago, Mr. Iknead and I were up in Labor and Delivery, anxiously awaiting the birth of another precious granddaughter. Needless to say, we weren’t disappointed and happily added Babydiva to the growing roster of grands. So much happens in a year and I forget how quickly babies grow and change,

from this

to this

Happy First Birthday Babydiva!

FINALLY FO FRIDAY

Lolita Vest

I think it turned out nicely. I wearing it today, again.

Don’t forget to check out Tami Ami’s blog for more FO Friday treats.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create. Albert Einstein

*Dysmotivation – a word I made up to describe the feeling of not wanting to do anything resembling most definitions of productivity and being compelled instead to read, watch trash TV and surf Rav.

Knitting

Late Start

March 8, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

WHAT’S UP

I’m getting a late start on blogging/computer housekeeping today, usually by this time I’ve blogged, cleaned out my inbox, answered e-mail, peeked in on what what’s going on with Rav, oohed and ahhed over the Friday FOs and moved on to thinking about dinner, maybe baking a little, knitting and reading and doing the straightening up that never seems to be quite finished around our house. Not today. Thinking about dinner has been accomplished, with chicken thawing, a couple of loads of laundry is in process and I just measured my newest on the needles project at a good, honest (no stretching allowed) 12 inches, a good start on a pattern that starts out with 16 inches of knitting in pattern.

GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME

I’m now 17 days out from my surgery and continue to feel a little better every day. I’d been missing my daily walks with Josie and decided to start back yesterday morning. We (Josie and I) walked to the post office, probably about a half mile round trip and probably since my speed is a lot slower than usual, I spotted some springy goodness along the way. Can spring be too far off?

I have an appointment Monday morning with my surgeon and am very hopeful he’ll release me to drive then. I’m beginning to get a little stir crazy here at home, even a trip to the grocery store sounds fun and exciting. Yeah, it’s that bad.

THE GRANDS

The Sprout – Just Happy to be Here!

Babydiva at Her Most Charming

and last, but certainly not least –

The Papoose Rocking the Shades

Cutest, sweetest, smartest, most beautiful and all other superlatives grands ever. I promise.

Real love stories never have endings. Richard Bach

Knitting

The Final Countdown

February 18, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

WHAT’S UP

In 24 hours, I hope my surgery will have begun, taking care of the worsening colitis that I’ve had for I don’t know how many years. Mr. Iknead and I are extremely optimistic that this will finally end what has become an increasingly nerve wracking problem, never knowing when or where a flare will occur and consequently making us a little gun shy about things like vacations or anything that might take us out of our comfort zone as far as hospitals and doctors are concerned. I start the official prep today at 2 pm, but as of midnight last night, I can have only clear liquids and then nothing to eat or drink after midnight tonight. I can’t believe people aren’t lining up to do this!

BY THE BOOK

I finished Jennifer Haigh’s The Condition, which I loved, and am set to start Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. I read and enjoyed another book of his, Into the Wild, so I’m excited to read it. I’ve been able to put off reading it, since I’m going to have some guaranteed down time in the hospital. Today’s been spent making sure all my electronic gear is charged and ready, so it will be ready when I am.

ON THE NEEDLES

I decided on a free Ravelry pattern, Spring Pools,by Linda Fisher, for the Parakeet yarn. I’m loving how it’s knitting up and the way the blue really pops.

One more repeat and I start the second sock.

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. Franklin D. Roosevelt

Knitting

FO Friday 01/18/13

January 18, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON AND OFF THE NEEDLES

This week’s FO Friday is Meg White’s Cabled Hat, a free Ravelry pattern. Turned out right nice as a friend of mine would say.

A quick knit, with just enough fiddliness to keep me interested. I think the yarn is some I picked up at Hobby Lobby a while back, I Love This Yarn 100% wool. Due to our (Mr. Iknead’s and mine) new austerity plan, I’m working toward losing at least a little of my yarn snobbiness. I’m trying as hard as I can to bring Mr. Iknead, a very thrifty (read tightwad) guy over to the dark side, knitting him a pair of soft, warm, merino socks, I think it might be working. The upshot of this plan is that in order for me to be able to stay home, baking and knitting, I have to scale back on some things, like high end sock yarn. Ouch.

I’m still working on the Phloem socks using a happy discovery of two hanks of beautiful Shibui Sock that I found during a stash dive. Hopefully by the next FO Friday, I’ll have them ready to wear. I loves me some Shibui!

BY THE BOOK

Another ~~casualty~~ opportunity to cut back is with my book and audiobook habit. I downgraded my Audible membership and have been using our local library instead. I love the downloadables, both e-books and audios and I’m nearly always at the ten book limit at any given time. One I’m listening to now is Danger to Self: On the Front Line with an ER Psy.chiatrist, by Paul R. Linde. Fascinating.

IN THE OVEN

Have butter and eggs sitting out, getting ready to make Sour Cream Pound Cake, a recipe from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, a wedding gift 33 years ago. It’s been well used and well loved, judging from the stains and sticky stuff between the pages and is the first cookbook I grab when thinking about what to have for supper or what to bake when my sweet tooth kicks in. A classic and a favorite.

Check out Tami Amis blog for more FO Friday goodness.

Simplicity is the key to brilliance. Bruce Lee

Knitting

If I Were a Size Six Knitting Needle/WIP Wednesday 01/09/13

January 9, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

where would I be? I’ve been asking myself this question over and over since this time yesterday. I started a new project day before yesterday that called for four different needle sizes; for the first time ever I think, I actually had the needles I needed, sizes 8, 7, 6, and 5. All hunky dory, right? Yeah, right up until the time I dropped the whole handful and one of the size 6 needles apparently was sucked into a black hole. I’ve looked everywhere I could think of and even some places that I knew absolutely that it couldn’t possibly be, stripped the sheets off the bed, rolled up a rug, moved furniture and it still hasn’t shown itself. I went to the Yarn Mart and just bought another set, knowing that in Bethworld, as soon as something is replaced, the original reappears in the most obvious place possible. Hasn’t happened yet but it will, it will.

ON THE NEEDLES

I’ve a couple of things in progress, small, quick gratification projects for this week’s WIP Wednesday, first up is the Sideways Grande Hat from Boutique Knits, knitted flat and then seamed.

A free Ravelry pattern, Meg White’s Cabled Hat, to match the cabled scarf I finished last week is the other.

A posting for FO Friday this week doesn’t seem too far fetched, but you never know. I learned a long time ago not to count my chickens before they hatch and never, ever turn your back on a nearly finished project. It has the ability to unknit and then lose itself in the stash pile, making you doubt your sanity because you know, positively know that you laid it down RIGHT HERE and now it’s missing in action. I’m just sayin’….

AROUND MY HOUSE

Yay! We have electricians today and they say they’ll be finished early this afternoon. I got a preview of the undercabinet lighting and it is beyond awesome! Here’s a peek –

I feel a heavy baking episode coming on – especially since I cleaned the oven yesterday and the bottom is a clean slate, ready, willing and able to take another pie bubble-over or cake batter mishap. What did we do before self cleaning ovens? Did our ovens get smaller and smaller due to the build up of crud on the bottom and the fact that cleaning involved protective clothing and dangerous chemicals? I know mine without a doubt would have. Gotta love progress.

Check out Tami Amis for more WIP Wednesday project love.

To be positive is to be mistaken at the top of one’s voice. Ambrose Bierce

Knitting

Winding Down/Looking Back/Moving Forward

December 31, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

AS PROMISED

Here are the promised photos of the grands. I hadn’t forgotten to post, in fact, I thought about it a lot, several times a day but was just too freakin’ lazy to put down my knitting, get up out of my comfy, warm by the fire chair and log on. I kept telling myself that “no I’m not procrastinating, I’m building anticipation”. See, I can rationalize anything.

CHRISTMAS WITH THE GRANDS

Babymama, Babydaddy, Bigmommy and Bigdaddy conspired, booked a photographer and surprised Mr. Iknead and me with a words fail me photo collage of the grands. Here are just a few of the pics. Get ready, you might not be able to handle the sweetness –

Left to Right – Annabelle, Susannah and Harper

Harper in Charge

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Every Day Should Be Christmas

And one more just because I love the excitement and innocence captured. They look like they’ve seen Santa!

Do You See What I See???

Told ya they were amazing, beautiful and sweet.

ON THE NEEDLES

The Zigzag Lace socks are toast. Finished the first sock, decided I didn’t like it and that life’s too short to knit something that I didn’t love, frogged it and started over with the Catnip Sock pattern. Much, much better. No documentation yet, probably for WIP Wednesday. Second first sock completed, first second sock started.

RESOLUTIONS?

I have a couple, one of which is to deliberately set aside 30 minutes a couple of mornings a week for blog housekeeping and updating and Ravelry following. Funny, I thought when I retired, I’d be doing a lot more of each but I’ve found that not to be the case, probably because I’m not sitting at a computer all day. I have a few more possible resolutions, I’ll share after I put the finishing touches on them. Maybe I should call the goals instead of resolutions. Hmmmm.

What are your goals/resolutions?

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, And the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha

Knitting

Frogged

June 9, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

I did it. I frogged the Maidenhair Fern socks, it took me until yesterday to it, but I got it done. I’m thinking Fa Fa Fa socks, a free Ravelry pattern that I saw on someone’s blog last week, I need to go back and look and I will, just not today.

THE GRANDS

I spent most of the day babysitting Babydiva and loving every second. Really, there wasn’t much to do, feed her, play with her, nap with her and it was glorious! She takes a long afternoon nap, so after lunch, she took a nap and so did Bela (Divadog) and I. Don’t know how long it’s been since I took an afternoon nap, I’m usually at work and they generally frown on that sort of thing and on my days off, I’m playing catchup with the things I put off during the work week. I could get used to naps. Here’s a new picture of Babydiva, big smile –

See why yesterday was so fun??

IN THE OVEN

It’s official – I love the silicone pans. Love them an unhealthy amount, I think. I (finally) got around to making the little Apple Cakes I’ve been talking about for at least a week and they turned out amazing. When they were finished baking and cooled a little, I literally just popped them out of the pan. Nothing stuck, they baked evenly and I’m so proud! Here’s one for show.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. Mark Twain

Knitting

WIP Wednesday

June 6, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

French Market Bag from Knitty

The color doesn’t translate well in the picture, but it’s Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool and once again I’ve fallen victim to Lost Ball Band Syndrome, so my description of the color is heathery brown. Oh, and can someone tell me why this photo rotated itself onto its side and how I can fix it? Thanks in advance.

FROG?

I still haven’t decided what to do with the neglected Maidenhair Fern sock. Here’s a pic showing the “girly” yarn.

And this one has decided to recline also. Help.

Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are — you aren’t. Margaret Thatcher

Knitting

WIP Wednesday

May 30, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

Here is my WIP for this week. I know it doesn’t really look like anything yet but you’ll just have to take my word for it, it’s a Cat Hat for a baby, with little ears. This is in anticipation of the Papoose’s new baby brother or sister, estimated arrival first week on October.

Thanks to Adel’s Knit and Craft 2011 and Ravelry for the free pattern.

IN THE OVEN

Yesterday I got my first issue of The Baking Sheet, a King Arthur Flour publication, of recipes, both sweet and savory. One that particularly piques my interest is Coconut Coffeecake. Oops, I forgot about the apple cakes I never got around to doing over the holiday, with the eggs that were in and out of the revolving door (seemingly) of my fridge. Maybe by Saturday, my new silicone pans will be here. I hope so. I’m excited to try them out.

Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent of no birds sang there except those that sang best. Henry Van Dyke

Knitting

The one where we continue to stand

March 27, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

baby watch. Every morning I say to myself, “Today’s the day, I’m sure of it” and then every night I tell myself, “It’s going to happen tonight, I just know it”. But Mr. Iknead and I, not to mention Babymama and Babydaddy, are getting so excited, it’s hard to think about anything else. All in good time, I know.

I tried out a new recipe Sunday from my new Sarabeth’s Bakery cookbook, Maple Walnut Muffins, and my official taste testers (really just whoever I can capture at that moment) give it a resounding thumbs up. Very tasty, not too sweet. A success. Here’s a pic of one of the muffins with my current WIP sock sharing the stage-

The sock pattern is Circle Socks, courtesy of a free Rav pattern download.

Know the true value of time; snatch, seize and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off til tomorrow what you can do today. Philip Dormer Stanhope, Lord Chesterfield

Knitting

The one where it’s Sunday

January 8, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

evening and I’m trying to get into the work week groove, getting my clothes for tomorrow ready along with my lunch, getting as much taken care of tonight as I can so that I have the minimum amount of stress and disorganization in the morning. This plan works for me more times than not, but it does require some preplanning and sometimes, I just don’t want to acknowledge that tomorrow and work are going to happen, I don’t know, something about wanting the weekend to last forever. Tonight, though, I’ve gotten my T’s crossed and my I’s dotted and there’ll be smooth sailing tomorrow morning.

I finished the socks in progress this afternoon. Don’t know if I’ve mentioned them or not and am too lazy to go back and check, but the pattern is Cable Twist, a Ravelry freebie and I love them. They worked up really quickly and easily, which in my case means little or no math involved and straightforward instructions. Here’s a pic, oops, not so fast. Mr Iknead informs me that yes indeed, he did take a photo but hasn’t downloaded it as of yet. Next time. To tide you over, here’s a current pic of the Papoose, modeling the latest in hair fashions.